U.S. patent number 6,375,395 [Application Number 09/365,271] was granted by the patent office on 2002-04-23 for laser guide for hand held power drill.
Invention is credited to Michael G. Heintzeman.
United States Patent |
6,375,395 |
Heintzeman |
April 23, 2002 |
Laser guide for hand held power drill
Abstract
The present invention has a laser mounted on the casing of the
drill such that the laser is in line with the bit and pointing in
the reverse direction. This allows the laser to be used to align
the drill bit with a mark or hole such that the drill bit is
directly in line with the preexisting mark. A bubble level is
included to ensure that the drill is held level or plumb when it
needs to be level or plumb. A retrofit mount allows the present
invention to be used with pre-existing hand held power drills. The
mount can be designed to allow the laser to point backward or
forward. The retrofit mount locks on to the machined race of a hand
held power drill using a metal collar and bolts. An arm extends
either back over the body of the drill in the reverse pointing
application or up from the collar in the forward pointing
application. A small laser is mounted to the arm such that the
laser is aligned with the drill bit. A bubble level is included to
ensure the drill is held level or plumb when it needs to be held
level or plumb.
Inventors: |
Heintzeman; Michael G. (Nisswa,
MN) |
Family
ID: |
23438173 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/365,271 |
Filed: |
July 30, 1999 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
408/16;
408/13 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B25H
1/0092 (20130101); Y10T 408/175 (20150115); Y10T
408/21 (20150115) |
Current International
Class: |
B25H
1/00 (20060101); B23B 049/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;408/13,16 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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2838968 |
|
Mar 1980 |
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DE |
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3308290 |
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Sep 1984 |
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DE |
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2653046 |
|
Apr 1991 |
|
FR |
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Primary Examiner: Wellington; A. L.
Assistant Examiner: Carter; Monica S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Martin; Rick Patent Law Offices of
Rick Martin, P.C.
Claims
I claim:
1. A laser and hand held power drill case with a drill bit
combination comprising:
said laser having a laser beam,
said laser having a mount for the hand held power drill case,
and
wherein the laser beam is aligned co-axially with the drill bit and
pointing in a direction 180.degree. to a working end of said drill
bit.
2. The hand held power drill of claim 1 further comprising a bubble
level mounted in the case.
3. A laser and hand held power drill case combination, said laser
having a laser beam, said laser having a mount for a hand held
power drill case, wherein said mount further comprises:
a threaded hole in the hand held power drill case;
a threaded end of the laser, opposite the laser beam; and
said threaded end threaded into said threaded hole.
4. A mount comprising:
a collar having an interior surface shaped to fit around a machined
race of a hand held power drill;
an arm attached to said collar and extending backward over said
hand held power drill when the mount is placed on said hand held
power drill; and
at least one laser mount attached to said arm, said laser mount
holding a laser such that a laser beam from said laser is aligned
co-axially with a drill bit of the hand held power drill when the
mount is placed on said hand held power drill.
5. The mount of claim 4, wherein the collar further comprises:
a top member, a bottom member, said members having an attachment
together around the machined race.
6. The mount of claim 4, wherein the laser mount further
comprises:
screws through said laser mount adapted to hold the laser in place
and allow a direction of the laser beam to be adjusted.
7. The mount of claim 4, wherein the laser further comprises a
bubble level.
8. A mount comprising:
a collar having an interior surface shaped to fit around a machined
race of a hand held power drill;
an arm attached to said collar and extending upward from said hand
held power drill when the mount is attached to said hand held power
drill; and
a laser attached to said arm such that a laser beam from said laser
has an alignment with a drill bit of the hand held power drill when
the mount is attached to said hand held power drill.
9. The mount of claim 8, wherein the laser beam is parallel with
the drill bit.
10. The mount of claim 8, wherein the collar further comprises:
a top piece, a bottom piece, said pieces having an attachment
together around the machined race.
11. The mount of claim 8, wherein the laser mount further
comprises:
screws through said laser mount adapted to hold the laser in place
and allow a direction of the laser beam to be adjusted.
12. The mount of claim 8 further comprising a bubble level attached
to the arm.
13. In a hand held power tool having a working end holding a
working tool having an axis which extend along the working tool,
said working tool having a preferred alignment with a workpiece, an
improvement comprising:
a sighting laser mounted to said hand held power tool, wherein said
sighting laser has a laser beam with an alignment co-axial with
said working tool.
14. The improvement of claim 13, wherein said laser has a mounting
brace attached to said hand held power tool.
15. The improvement of claim 13, wherein the laser is mounted
directly to the power tool.
16. The improvement of claim 13, wherein said laser has a beam
pointing in a common direction as the working tool.
17. The improvement of claim 13, wherein said power tool is a hand
held power drill.
18. A laser and hand held power drill with a drill bit combination
comprising:
said laser having a laser beam,
said laser having a mount integral in a case of the hand held power
drill, such that the laser beam is aligned co-axially with a bit of
the hand held power drill.
19. A laser having a laser beam in combination with a hand held
power drill having a case, said laser having a mount for the hand
held power drill case wherein said mount further comprises:
a receiving connector in the hand held power drill case;
an attachment connector on the mount, opposite the laser beam;
and
said attachment connector removably attached to said receiving
connector.
20. A laser and hand held power drill with a drill bit combination
comprising:
said laser having a laser beam,
said drill bit having a working end, and
said laser having a mount integral in a case of the hand held power
drill, such that the laser beam is aligned co-axially with a bit of
the hand held power drill and pointing in a direction opposite to
the working end of said drill bit.
Description
FIELD OF INVENTION
The present invention relates to a laser guide for a hand held
power drill. More particularly, this invention relates to a means
to mount a small laser on a hand held power drill such that the
laser can be used to align the bit of the power drill with a
desired object.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It is well known to use a laser as a pointer to guide the targeting
of various devices, including guns and missiles. In most of these
applications the laser aligns with the target point of the device.
But in these devises the objective is completed as soon as the
device or laser reaches its target. Not so in boring a hole. The
objective is only started when the point of a drill bit begins to
penetrate the surface of a material. It is generally easy to bore a
hole through 1/4" of material. However, the difficulty is increased
as the material gets thicker. Additionally, the difficulty is
compounded many times over if that hole must be directly in line
with another hole or object. Example: you must bore a hole through
a 12 inch thick wall to install a steel pipe for a gas line, and
that steel pipe must line up with a fitting ten feet away. It is
easy to start the hole but it is almost impossible to bore that
hole through 12 inches of material and get that steel pipe to line
up with the fitting, unless you use the fitting as a target. By
fastening a laser to the back of the drill and shining that laser
directly in line with the drill bit (but in the opposite direction)
and shining that laser beam at the target (in this case the
fitting) you can bore a hole through 12 inches of material or 12
feet of material and still be directly in line with that target or
fitting.
Another application is the installation of hand railings or
stairway hand railings. The holes bored in a hand rail post must be
directly in line with the holes drilled in the next post in order
to receive the rails that would go in between the two hand rail
posts. And the holes bored in the horizontal rails must be directly
in line with each other in order to receive the balusters that go
in between the top and bottom rails.
Another application is the manufacturing of circle stairways. The
holes bored in the center column must be exactly in line with the
stair tread in order to receive the stair tread.
Another application would be shining the laser forward by mounting
the laser above and parallel to the drill bit, even 10 or 12 inches
above the drill bit. This would allow in line boring of material
with a forward mounted target. Example: boring a hole all the way
through a post on a deck to run a wire through it in order to put a
light on top of that post.
When mounting a laser on a hand held power drill another problem is
encountered. The vibrations of the power drill require that the
laser must be held very securely in place to be useful. The present
invention solves all the known problems, thus providing a laser
guided hand held power drill.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The main aspect of the present invention is to produce the effect
of in line boring using a laser guided hand held drill without the
use of additional mechanical alignment devices.
Another aspect of the present invention is to allow the user to
drill a series of holes in a series of work pieces so that the
holes are directly in line with each other.
Another aspect of the present invention is to allow the user to
bore a perfectly in line hole that is small (about 1/2" in
diameter) and than make it larger by boring out that hole with a
pilot bit (about 1"-10"in diameter)
Another aspect of the invention is to allow the user to drill a
series of holes in a work piece, wherein said holes are a given
distance apart only having to measure the first hole.
Another aspect of the present invention is to provide a means to
retrofit a laser guide on an existing hand held power drill.
Another aspect of the present invention are to provide bubble
levels built into the laser and or hand held drill in the case that
a hole would need to be bored either plumb or level without having
a target for the laser to point at.
Other aspects of this invention will appear from the following
description and appended claims, reference being made to the
accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification wherein
like reference characters designate corresponding parts in the
several views.
The present invention solves the above problems by mounting the
laser in the casing of the drill such that the laser is in line
with the bit and pointing in the reverse direction. This allows the
laser to be used to align the drill bit with a mark or hole such
that the drill bit is directly in line with the preexisting mark. A
retrofit mount allows the present invention to be used with
pre-existing hand held power drills. The mount can be designed to
allow the laser to point backward or forward.
The present invention's retrofit mount locks on to the machined
race of a hand held power drill using a metal collar and bolts. An
arm extends either back over the body of the drill in the reverse
pointing application or up from the collar in the forward pointing
application. A small laser is mounted to the arm such that the
laser is aligned with the drill bit.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a side plan view of a back pointing retrofit mount on a
hand held power drill.
FIG. 2. is a cross section of the back pointing retrofit mount
taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a back pointing retrofit mount on a
hand held power drill.
FIG. 4 is a back plan view of the back pointing retrofit mount on a
hand held power drill along line 4--4 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a side plan view of an alternate embodiment forward
pointing retrofit mount on a hand held power drill.
FIG. 6 is the preferred embodiment of the present invention with
the laser mounted on the casing of the hand held power drill.
Before explaining the disclosed embodiment of the present invention
in detail, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited
in its application to the details of the particular arrangement
shown, since the invention is capable of other embodiments. Also,
the terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and
not of limitation.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2,3 and 4, a hand held power drill 100
has a back pointing laser mount 101. The back pointing laser mount
101 has a collar 102 and an arm 103. The collar 102 has a top 107
and a bottom 108, which are placed around the machined race 104 of
the drill 100. The collar 102 is locked in place by bolts 105, 106.
The machined race 104 must be stable enough and sturdy enough to
allow the collar 102 to securely lock in place.
At present the only hand held power drill which is known to have a
stable enough machined race to allow the retrofit mount to be used
is the Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation's Magnum Drill. However,
a collar 102 could be shaped to fit any machined race 104. Care
must be taken when tightening the bolts 105, 106 so that they are
evenly tightened. The space 109 between the top 107 and bottom 108
of the collar 102 must be even on both sides as shown in FIG.
2.
The arm 103 is attached to the top 107 of collar 102. The arm 103
extends back over the drill 100 and beyond the tail end of the
drill. Laser mounts 110, 111 are attached to the underside of the
arm 103. The laser casing 112 is placed inside the laser mounts
110, 111 and held in place with thumbscrews 115, 116. The laser
casing 112 must be mounted so that the laser beam 113 is aligned
with the drill bit 114 as shown by line L. The laser beam 113 can
point the same direction as the drill bit 114, or in the opposite
direction along line L. In the preferred embodiment the laser beam
113 is aligned along line L such that it is co-axial with the drill
bit and points 180.degree. from the working end of drill bit 114.
Screws 117, 118, 119, and 120 are provided to allow the alignment
of the laser casing 112 to be adjusted in the laser mounts 110,
111.
A bubble level 121 is included in the laser casing 112 to allow the
user to check that the drill 100 is held level if necessary. Hole
122 in the arm 103 allows the user to see the bubble level 121.
Alternatively the bubble level 121 could be mounted on the top
surface of the arm 103 (Not shown).
Referring next to FIG. 5., an arm 501 extends up from collar 102 to
allow the laser beam 113 to be mounted pointing forward. The arm
502 extends forward from arm 501 and is parallel to the drill bit
114. The laser casing 112 is mounted to arm 502 exactly as
described above. The laser beam 113 is set to be a given distance
D1 above the drill bit 114 and exactly parallel to it. This
embodiment allows the user to align the laser with a given spot and
drill exactly D1 below that spot. Bubble level 503 is provided to
prevent side-to-side misalignment of the drill bit 114 and the
laser beam 113. This ensures that the drilled holes are directly
beneath the mark.
An alternate embodiment (not shown) is to have arm 503 be slideably
adjustable so that D.sub.1 is a variable distance. It is known in
the art that a fitting (not shown) could be attached to collar 102
to allow either the backward extending arm 103 or the upward
extending arm 502 to be attached to the collar 102. Said fitting
would have to be stable enough that the arms 102, 502 would not
vibrate more than the collar 102.
Referring next to FIG. 6 the preferred embodiment is shown. In the
preferred embodiment the case 600 of the hand held power drill has
a threaded hole 601. The laser casing 602 has a threaded end 606
adapted to screw into hole 601. It is essential that the laser
casing 602 be held securely in place and that threaded hole have a
positive stop so that the laser always is in the same position. The
laser casing 602 is set such that the laser beam 603 aligns along
line L with the drill bit 604. The casing of the laser has three
adjustment screws 607 evenly spaced around the laser. The
adjustment screws 607 allow the laser beam 603 to be precisely
aligned with the drill bit 604. A bulls eye bubble level (not
shown) is also provided which can be threaded into hole 601 when
the laser is not in use. This allows the user to drill a hole
plumb.
An alternate embodiment would be to have the laser casing 602
formed as an integral part of the drill case 600 (not shown). This
would not allow for easy replacement of the laser and so is
presently considered less desirable. Bubble level 605 is provided
to allow the user to ensure that the drill is held level when
needed.
Although the present invention has been described with reference to
preferred embodiments, numerous modifications and variations can be
made and still the result will come within the scope of the
invention. No limitation with respect to the specific embodiments
disclosed herein is intended or should be inferred.
* * * * *